ROCHESTER - Litigants can now initiate a lawsuit and file
subsequent papers by fax in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court
in Monroe County. In the near future it will also be possible to file these
same documents by direct electronic means. Hon. Thomas A. Stander, Presiding
Justice of the Commercial Division in Monroe County, along with Monroe
County Clerk Maggie Brooks, will be demonstrating the new procedure and
answering questions at 2 P.M. on Thursday, March 2, in Supreme Court, Room
525 of the Hall of Justice in Rochester.

New York Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman said, "The electronic
filing of court papers will be a great boon to both the public and the
court system. It will save attorneys and self-represented litigants the
time and expense of personally going to court to file papers and will allow
parties the convenience of being able to instantly access their case files
any time of the day or night. It will also increase productivity for the
court by eliminating the need for paper handling and storage and protect
case materials from loss or destruction."

Interlocutory papers will be filed by faxing to (877) 626-8593, a toll
free number, where the court papers will be transformed into electronic
signals going directly to the computers located in the Commercial Division.

Judge Stander said, "As the practicing bar knows, we now "call calendar"
on the Internet. Filing by fax is the next step towards the paperless court
of the future. Soon we will also be accepting papers filed electronically.
All of these innovations will increase attorney productivity and the efficiency
of the courts."The initiation of legal action is also possible by faxing to (877) 626-8603,
a toll-free number assigned to the Monroe County Clerk. Since these filings
require the payment of filing fees, the County Clerks Office will allow
the payment of these fees by credit card.

"As the Clerk of the Supreme Court in Monroe County, I am pleased that
the Monroe County Clerk's Office will be part of this pioneering effort,"
said Monroe County Clerk Maggie Brooks. "Not only will fax filing of court
papers benefit attorneys, but also those other customers who may still
have to come to the clerk's office in person and who will now face shorter
lines and shorter waits."

Although Monroe County is one of the first to offer Filing by Fax, other
locations in the state in which it will also be possible to file by fax,
electronic means or a combination of both include the Court of Claims,
the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court in New York County, and the
Supreme Court in Westchester and Suffolk Counties.